Well, now that we got that draft behind us, time to think about next year…

Okay, maybe we shouldn’t skip ahead that fast. We’ve got Summer League to watch guys grow, a free agent season coming that will be a roller coaster, then a regular season and playoffs before we get back to this spot. But let’s peak around the corner and see who we will be talking about a year from now anyway.

The 2013 draft is so devoid of top returning underclassmen and has such a marginal freshman class, one NBA scout said our 2013 Top 100 list may be the weakest since the dreaded 2000 NBA draft.

So who are the top guys? Here is who DraftExpress has as its Top 5 right now for the 2013 draft (know this is going to shift a lot in the next year).

1) Nerlens Noel (6’11” center, will play for Kentucky). He’s been targeted for a while as a top pick to watch — he’s long, very athletic, defensive minded shot blocker who can finish with authority on the other end. If you think that sounds a lot like just taken No. 1 Anthony Davis, you are spot on. That’s the comparison. His recruitment was the focus of a New York Times piece that doesn’t speak well of college basketball.

2) Shabazz Muhammad (6’6” shooting guard, will play for UCLA). He’s not the biggest two guard, there may be better athletes at the two guard, but Muhammad is NBA level at both brings great energy at both ends of the floor, plus he just has a scorer’s instincts. He can flat out light it up. He will knock down threes or drive the lane. A complete offensive player. Let’s hope Ben Howland doesn’t crush that.

3) Cody Zeller (6’11” center, Indiana). He could have come out but decided to return for one more year in Bloomington. He is the younger, and frankly better, brother of North Carolina’s Tyler Zeller. Cody averaged 15.6 points per game while shooting a very impressive 62 percent last season. You’ll see him on your television a lot next year, Indiana is going to be very good.

4) Rudy Gobert (6’11” power forward/center, France). He measured a 7’9” wingspan at adidas EuroCamp and as you might imagine he can block a few shots. He got called up to the French national team after his play in some under-20 games.

5) James McAdoo (6’9” power forward, North Carolina). A fundamentally sound big man who moves well. He can rebound and defend, and if he can develop a steady midrange jumper he becomes a much-more dangerous NBA big man.

The Pelicans are disappointing this season — it is Anthony Davis vs. the world down there. Which is the main reason they are 7-16 this season. While things have gotten better since Jrue Holiday‘s return, Davis is averaging a league-best 31.4 points per game, it then drops off to Holiday at 15.4, and then E'Twaun Moore at 11.1.

When a team struggles, usually that is a bad sign for the coach. Not because it’s always their fault, but because GMs choose not to fire themselves for poor roster construction. Which leads to the question: Alvin Gentry, are you concerned about your job? (Warning, NSFW)

New Orleans’ struggles are not on Gentry, certainly not completely. He’d like a roster that can play uptempo, that has depth. What he got instead was a good point guard, an elite 4/5, a rookie in Buddy Hield that maybe pans out down the line, and then… nada. And the roster Gentry has often is banged up.

If anyone is in trouble, it is GM Dell Demps. Remember, Danny Ferry was hired last summer for the vague role of “special advisor.” Gentry is in his second year, and the issue is the roster he was given. But the Pelicans are a patient organization that values continuity, so… who knows. But the clock is ticking on Davis;, it’s years away, but the Pelicans need to build a team around him and are far from that right now.

Jones told the Beacon Journal he will retire after next season, which will be his 15th in the NBA. His ultimate dream is to ride off after three consecutive championships in Cleveland

“I know playing 15 years is a number where I can look back and I can be like, ‘I accomplished something,’ ” Jones said. “Fourteen vs. 15 may not be much, but to be able to say I played 15 years, that’s enough for me to hang ’em up.”

Jones’ contract expires after the season, so the Cavs will have a say in whether he returns. Safe to say if LeBron wants him back, Jones will be back.

But the Heat got into trouble relying on washed-up veterans around LeBron, wasting valuable roster spots on players who could no longer contribute.

Is that Jones? Not yet. Though he’s out of the rotation, he has still made 11-of-12 open 3-pointers this season. There’s a role for him as spot-up shooter when Cleveland needs one.

Still, the Cavaliers ought to be mindful of Jones’ likely decline over the next year and a half. Plus, it’s not a certainty he holds to his timeline. Cavs veterans have a history of changing their mindon retirement.

Phil Jackson wants us to know Carmelo Anthony can hold on to the ball too long and stall out the offense.

Shocking. Such a revelation. It’s not like he knew that when he gave Anthony a five-year contract extension… oh, wait, everybody did know that already.

Which leads to my criticism of Jackson in this PBT Extra. Taking a shot at a player as a coach who sees said player every day comes off differently than the same thing from the ivory tower criticism of a GM. Plus, Jackson’s timing made no sense.

The New York Knicks were on a four-game winning streak, they have looked like a potential playoff team in the East, team chemistry has been pretty good, and there seemed to be more sun shining on Madison Square Garden then we have seen in a few years.

“At the end of the day we’re playing good basketball,” Anthony said. “That’s the only thing that matters at this point. So any negativity that’s coming towards me or towards the team, I don’t think we need it at this point…

“I feel like we’re playing good basketball, and just to have a temporary black cloud over our heads,” he said. “I don’t know when the comments were made or the gist of them, I just know something was said.”

Anthony is spot on here. Jackson isn’t wrong that Anthony can hold the ball too long, but Jackson knew that when he gave Anthony a five-year contract extension. Also, the Sports VU camera data shows Anthony is holding the ball less and dribbling a little less than previous seasons.

But the real question: What did Jackson think he would accomplish with this? He’s too smart, too calculated — he doesn’t just say things to the press without a motive. But with everything going about as well as one could hope with the Knicks, and with Anthony not at a point in his career he’s going to change his game, what’s the point?